Concurrently with the state visit of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang, and within the framework of meetings organised by Italian institutions with a view to enhancing economic, scientific and industrial partnership opportunities, between the two countries, Italy and Vietnam signed the 6th bilateral Executive Protocol for Scientific and Technological Cooperation, on 22 November 2016.
The new 2017-2019 Protocol will finance joint scientific projects focusing on agrifood, biotechnologies and ICT.
The signing ceremony took place during the meeting of the Joint Committee, established pursuant to the Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Italy and Vietnam (signed in Hanoi on 5 January 1992 and enforced on 10 May 1998). The Italian delegation was led by Vincenzo De Luca, head of the Directorate General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). The Vietnamese delegation was led by Phung Bao Thach, Director General of the Department for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
The representations of the two Countries highlighted the excellent bilateral relations and acknowledged that scientific and technological research is an effective and indispensible tool for economic, social and cultural development. They expressed deep satisfaction about the growth of their scientific communities.
Director De Luca underlined that the MOU signed in Rome by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the Vietnamese Academy for Science and Technology (VAST) on 21 November 2016, “will certainly pave the way to relations in the field of science, technology and innovation, also within the framework of ASEAN and in light of the strengthening of industrial and economic relations with our Country.”
